Resveratrol
Resveratrol And Anti-Aging: Is It The New Fountain Of Youth?
The prospect of aging is something that no one looks forward to, but we all have to face up to the fact that it will happen someday. That doesn’t keep people from trying to forestall the effects of aging however…far from it in fact. Look through the racks of your health food store or through the pages of any health magazine and you will be likely be inundated with scores of products that all claim to be the “Next Big Thing” in the fight to combat aging.
Entering this fiercely contested arena is resveratrol, and among its many other health benefits, it has also been ascribed the potential to combat the ravages of time on the human body. But how effective is it really? In order to answer that, a closer look at what resveratrol is and how it affects the body is warranted.
What resveratrol is and what it does
Resveratrol is a substance that is derived from a fungus that is commonly found in red grapes, particularly on the skin. This is the reason why resveratrol is commonly associated with red wine, in which red grapes are of course the primary ingredients. More extensive tests will still have to be performed in order to solidify initial findings, but it seems that resveratrol somehow prevents the growth and formation of bacteriological functions, which so often cause illnesses or general poor health.
Can resveratrol actually prevent aging?
Laboratory experiments performed on mice have shown that subjects given resveratrol exhibited a significant retardation of the ageing process compared to mice that were not given resveratrol. While this is not a clear indication that resveratrol will have the same effect on humans, it does hold more than a glimmer of hope that the substance can have a similar effect on people.
Over in France
What is more impressive is the role that resveratrol plays in a phenomenon called the French paradox. This is a well-known occurrence in which the residents of certain parts of the country seem to have a much lower rate of heart disease than many other parts of the world. This phenomenon has been linked with the French’s high red wine consumption, which seems to negate the effects of the fat-rich diet of the country.
Impressive to be sure, but what does this have to do with resveratrol or anti aging for that matter? Well, when you consider that another region that is known for its copious amounts of red wine consumption–Sardinia–is gifted with grapes (and subsequently red wine) that have an even higher concentration of the resveratrol fungus, AND that many people in that region live to a remarkably old age, then the theory that resveratrol can indeed have anti aging properties gains even more credibility.